My progress through the unit

Online:
What did I learn?
I'd never properly been shown how to use photoshop before so I found that really useful, I do have my own website but I don't think that I utilise it as effectively as I could.
How could I have done better?
I felt I could have done better by updating my blog more frequently than I did.

Print:
What did I learn?
In print I learnt all about page layouts and what you have to do to images to transfer them from a computer onto printed pages via Indesign, a programme which I had never used before.
What could I have done better?
I would have asked for the permission to use the images in Birdworld's archive before wasting a lot of time trying to take photographs which we couldn't get. They were fine for us to use their images, it would have saved us a lot of time.

Radio:
What did I learn?
I learnt a little bit about how the desk works and how the computers are linked to the desk and how you would use them if you were recording a programme. I learnt about Audition: using multi-track, changing levels, fading in and out, and deleting unwanted sections.
What could I have done better?
I was not entirely pleased with the editing of my Christmas Vox Pops. I felt it was rushed and because of that I feel that the editing isn't at the standard I would have liked it to have been.

TV:
What did I learn?
I learnt how to use Premiere Pro I also learnt how use a camera and how to frame a shot. I also learnt about all of the TV terms, eg: P2C, FTF, A-Roll, etc
What could I have done better?
I'm not happy with both my P2Cs in the Royal Wedding TV package, the first isn't delivered in enough of a 'news style' and on the second I don't like the framing of the shot with the wall behind me. I think I could have re-done both of those shots.

Fabian Tactics interview

I went to Leeds to meet up with two members of the up and coming band Fabian Tactics. The band consists of six members: Robert Alexander, Leo Picking, Jake Long, Luke Mills Pettigrew, Ayo Vincent and Wilfred Taylor. Here's what lead singer, Robert and lead guitarist, Leo had to say.

Mixdown.mp3 Fabian tactics by Madeleine Hearn

The Royal Wedding

Christmas vox pops

We went out in Farnham to ask what people's views and opinions were on the Christmas decorations going up in the Lion and Lamb Yard nearly two months before Christmas, here's what they had to say!

Christmas vox pops by Madeleine Hearn

Analysis of the BBC news programme: Council houses may be offered for as little as two years

Content within programme:

The program begins with GVs of council housing in different areas with a voice over from the reporter. The program then cuts to a clip of the housing minister talking about the benefits of the new plans. This clip appears to have been taken from a previous interview as the housing minister sits with a background of London behind him. Perhaps this clip has been taken from an interview done from the studio on Breakfast TV. The reporter then introduces the vox pops section of the program: another GV of a street and a voice over from the reporter informing the viewer of the responses “mixed” and the location “in Newcastle”. Three vox pops from three different people then follow from a woman, and then two men. All of the vox pops are filmed with residential areas behind them, two support the new plans and one disagrees with them. After this it cuts to a shot of the reporter (who we haven’t actually seen yet until this point) he does a P2C on a council estate walking towards the camera explaining some of the exceptions to the new scheme (those already living in council housing and some with certain housing associations will not be affected). This then cuts to a shot of more GVs with reporter doing a voice over talking about the problems that homeless charities and support groups have with the new rules. This then cuts to a woman from the charity Crisis speaking about why they don’t like the new rules. This vox pop looks to be taken from an interview as it hasn’t been filmed on the street but is in an office. More GVs of council buildings then follow with a Soc said over the images.

What I liked in the programme:

I thought that the use of GVs worked well, they we’re used frequently through out the program. I think this helped to add a creative element to the program as the GVs looked as though they had been well thought out and planned.

I liked that when the reporter was doing his P2C he walked towards the camera up the street instead of standing still. This added an extra element and made his P2C more interesting.

The people who they chose for the vox pops didn’t just represent one group of people as they chose a mixture of sexes and also races. They also had varying opinions. This made the vox pops seem like they properly represented ‘the peoples’ view.

What could have been done better:

One of the people in the vox pops I thought spoke quite unclearly and I could just make out what he had said, perhaps another person who spoke a bit more clearly should have been chosen.

I felt that one of the main issues within the program was how some people may be exempt from the new rules and the question as to weather this is fair or not. The way that the only P2C in the program was raising this issue gave the impression that it was an important point. Therefore I felt it may have been better to have a vox pop/interview with a rep from a housing association rather than from a homeless charity. I felt that this element of the program was slightly confusing.

It's Sean-time!

Our first television production lecture, which took place last week, saw us first meeting the man who would be teaching us, Sean Walsh. A man whose very being says "camera, lights, action!" Decisive and straight to the point, the moment the clock hit 2'oclock (the time our lecture is supposed begin) Sean locked the doors meaning any late comers would simply miss their first lesson in television. "Programs can't ever go out late" he warned us,"we will be treating this class room as a real television studio, therefore lateness can not be tolerated." After making his point he finished with a beaming television smile and looked as if he should then say "My name's Sean Walsh, thank you and goodnight"  From that moment on I knew I was going to like Sean, and I also knew that there was no way I was ever going to let myself be late to any of his lectures.

Here's a few of the things Sean told us about television production in general and what to expect from television if we choose it as one of our preferred subjects:

• When filming always ask for the persons name and how it's spelt, get this all on camera.
• From Christmas onwards if you decide to take TV you will be expected to create a unit dairy detailing what you did, what you learnt and how you could have improved your work.
• All work is marked by Sean and also by a person not connected to the course. It is important to remember this person will not know you or your personality, therefore you must be clear and concise with your work so that they fully understand it
• TV terms:

 B-roll: Secondary material (eg,shots of buildings and scenery)

A-roll: Interviews, reporter pieces etc

P2C: Piece to camera (standupper)

Soc: Sign off (standard out que)

• Always be aware of lighting and what effect it is having on the shot.
• Rule of thirds: dividing the shot into 9 parts
• Fill the frame (F.T.F)
• Don't put the person you're interviewing right in the middle of the shot, put them slightly to one side.
• 1st year will comprise of: making packages, GVs (general shots), B-roll, vox pops (voice of the people) interviews with accredited sources, p2c, graphics
• You will never loose marks for being creative even if the idea doesn't work out
• The most important element of television is the audience
• TV is for people, about people

Our task in the lesson was to go out and interview people on campus about the recent royal engagement. Teams decided, risk assessment forms filled out (finally) and recording equipment picked up we headed out: young journalists full of enthusiasm and optimism. This, however didn't last very long as we quickly established that firstly, hardly anyone likes being filmed, and secondly that the nations interest in the royals appears to have wained since Charlie boy and Di tied the knot. So after many a "Errr...I dunno" and a "They're getting married?" and even, strangely enough, one "Don't point that thing at me!"we returned back to the class room with few bits of footage that we could actually use. 

This said, similar to Sean's previous door locking stunt, the exercise taught us a tough lesson: that television is most certainly not always glamourous and that TV may be "for people about people"but people can't half be unhelpful in the making process! 

Poppy Pressure?

Today is Sunday the 14th of November, it is Remembrance Day. On this day we remember those who fought and died in World War One and World War Two. More recently this day has also been utilised for us to remember the British troops who are currently fighting in Afghanistan.

As I looked around at peoples lapels in the weeks leading up to this day I saw nearly all of them were wearing poppies. Whenever I watched the television: news presenters, interviewers, interviewees, sports personalities, musicians, each one of them were wearing red poppies. This made me panic. "Everyone has a poppy on" I thought, "I haven't bought one yet, everyone's going to start thinking I don't care, I need to buy a poppy." And just like that, I was a victim of poppy pressure.
Are those on the street or on television wearing poppies because every time they put them on they stop and think about the people who died at war? Perhaps they do. Or are they wearing one as they feel socially pressured to buy one, or because the television company would look bad if they didn't make everyone on their shows wear one?

At the start of november my brother and myself were sat at Victoria looking up at the advert of a solider putting on a prosthetic leg, next to this image it says "It only takes a second to put on a poppy". I ask my brother, who works for a charity, what does he think of this advert? He replies, "It makes the viewer feel guilty, like all charity adverts, so I guess it's a pretty effective advert." I can't argue with him, I do feel guilty when looking at the advert and it does make me want to buy a poppy.

Therefore we as a nation obviously feel guilty that we have sent men and woman to fight wars for us and they have not always returned. I am not saying that Remembrance Day is not important, nor am I saying that war is not horrific and awful. What I am saying is that guilt is most definitely a strong emotion attached to Remembrance Day and that perhaps the 14th of November is a day designed to vent a nations guilt just as much as it is to remember.

 It is a firmly accepted fact now that World War One was one of Britian's most awful wars. We accomplished very little and a lot of blood was shed in the process. And no one seemed to really know what we were fighting for. Sounding familiar to a certain war we are currently engaged in now? I do find it slightly ironic that we have a day where we remember how awful war is and how guilty we feel for so many people dying in the process, yet we go and do it all again. And no doubt after this pointless war another one will surely follow.

I bought two poppies this year and lost both of them before Remembrance Day after they fell off of my coat.

i i, the Independent is launching a new newspaper

On Radio 4's Media Show today Steve Hewlett discussed with Andrew Mullins, Peter Preston and Allen Briden the Independents new newspaper "i".

The newspaper costs 20p and is targeted at young people who are typically not interested in reading newspapers or those who do not have the time to read newspapers during the week. "Anything new which people are trying out in print at the moment deserves to be saluted...but I would rather pick up a copy of the Metro for free and hop on the train than que at a seperate stand and pay 20p" said Peter Preston.

 I personally agree with this. The Independent argues that i will be better written than free newspapers like the Metro. However, I wonder if those not used to reading newspapers or those who do not have the time are massively concerned about the quality of writing and content.

Although, Peter Preston says "the figures are better than I expected." So Perhaps the Independent will be the first to lead the way in making print more accessible to the masses and perhaps commuters will lay down their copies of The Metro and pick up an "i". 

With free online news sites being so easily accessible now via devices such as I Phones, however, I feel that the recent figures may reflect the publics interest in the novelty of buying a new newspaper rather than their interest in news itself. Surely we will always choose the free option over anything we have to pay for? "i" don't know if I'm entirely sold on this new newspaper.

Booooobies!

Via Dawn Porters blog I have found a charity's website which aims to inform and advise young women about the importance of checking your breasts for signs of breast cancer. The site's address is: http://www.coppafeel.org/

The woman who started up this charity found out that she had breast cancer at the age of 23, this really shocked me. I will fully admit that I am one of the many young woman who thought you didn't have to start checking your breasts until you were middle aged. 

A short video of Kris (founder of CoppaFeel) accepting her Pride of Britain award:

It's CoppaFeel day on the 29th of October...start feeling those boobies!

Fake me! Is that what you really look like?

"Fakeme" is the name of the company that has posted an advertisement through my door, they are a company who specialise in digitally altering photographs. I sit studying the piece of card: a highly professional looking publication with an image of a women in a bikini walking out of the sea on it. She has a curvy body with a bit of weight sitting on her hips and waist, and she has a tattoo on her hip. This image is on a kind of flap, when I fold back this flap an image of the same woman is underneath. Here she has a completely flat, toned stomach, no curves, and no tattoo.

"Everyone is faking it" the advertisement tells me, then asks: "Why aren't you?"

 Do all of us really want to ditch the bodies we were born with and exchange them for the toned ones we always see in the media? I would say yes. If we were asked which woman would we like to be: the one on the front of the flap or the edited image underneath, the majority of us would not hesitate in saying that we would much rather be the latter. However, this service can not transform you into this woman. It can, however, make others think that you are this woman.

Fakeme claims on this hand-out that the service they offer is "perfect for Facebook and On-line dating sites." This disturbs me slightly that there are many of us who see no harm in presenting photographs of ourselves, via the internet, that do not properly portray the way they look. Is this not false advertising?

Another service offered by the Fakeme team is the alteration of wedding photographs. On their website they say: "What could be a better finish to your precious Wedding Album than to give it the Fakeme treatment." Marriage is surely the ultimate gesture of acceptance and love. By marrying someone you are saying "I accept and love you, warts and all", at least this is what I believe. Therefore to edit and alter  this day and the moments between you and your life partner surely contradicts what the entire concept of weddings are about. The day I marry a man who wants photographs of me altered is the day I have married the wrong man.

I can't deny that sometimes I would like to change certain aspects of my body and that sometimes I do feel insecure about the way I look. Therefore, I cannot begin an attack on the nation under a false wonderment of why these photo editing services appeal to us so much. Fakeme evidently is successful otherwise they would not have the money to produce the glossy, professional looking leaflet which has arrived through my door. However, surely we need to reach a point where we realise an edited version of ourselves is not the real us, no matter how much we want it to be. Perhaps we should stop Fakeme-ing and start accepting.

   

No go Glasto

Here's a list of other exciting music festivals going on in and outside of the UK in 2011 for those of you who, like me, sat on the internet or hung on the phone for hours on Sunday waiting patiently to get your hands on tickets for Glastonbury 2011 and never did.

http://www.bestival.net

 Bestival, a festival which takes place on the Isle of Wight every September, and they do student rate tickets! Most famous for everyone attending in fancy dress.

http://lowlandstickets.co.uk/lowlands-event-information/

Lowlands, a festival which takes place in Holland in August, this is the link to the unofficial English site (the official one is in Dutch). Last year they had the likes of Massive Attack, The XX, Blink 182, Queens of the StoneAge and Placebo playing, as well as a whole host of other cool things like movie tents and street performers.

http://www.globalgathering.com/

Global Gathering, is a dance festival which originally began in the UK, it takes place on the last weekend of July in Stratford-upon-Avon. The festival has recently expanded to venues overseas, check the website for which countries Global Gathering will be at in 2011.

http://www.vintageatgoodwood.com/home.aspx

Vintage At GoodWood, is a festival which specialises in all that is vintage, from fashion to music. This new festival is held every year in the South Downs of Sussex, running from the 13th to the 15th of August.

http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/home/index.aspx

Latitude, another fairly new festival which is held in Suffolk from the 15th to the 18th of July. There are multiple arenas, for not only showing musical acts but for poetry sessions and film screenings as well!

So there's a few of many cool festivals which will be taking place next year. And of course those of you who didn't get your Glasto ticket will know that if you really had your heart set on going there, tickets go on re-sale in April of next year.

Junip: José Gonzalez and friends

The Swedish singer/songwriter, most famous for his cover of The Knife's "Heartbeats" has rejoined the bandmates of his school years, creating Junip.
This is "Offpoint", a song off of their new album "Fields" which came out on September 13th. A folk type song brought to life with Jose's mystical voice, enjoy!

Practice video upload from youtube

TheRecruitingSargeant by Madeleine Hearn

Welcome Video

The Barn: Creatively, organically, and student-ly friendly!

Tucked away at the end of a brick clad alley way which leads off of Farnham’s high street is a cosy Mecca for students, musicians and artists. The Barn is as versatile and creative as the people who go there: a free Wi-Fi hotspot and organic café by day transforms into a music venue and art space by night.

The Barn itself welcomes you the moment you step through the door with the oranges and greens which adorn the walls of the “café/bar” area. If you venture upstairs you’ll find an array of cushions laid out on the floor beckoning you to have a seat while you enjoy a pot of nettle and peppermint tea and listen to some reggae.   

A “community spirit” is what The Barn’s website promises and as the venue was founded and is run by someone who is familiar with Farnham (a former UCA student) it means The Barn can better provide for the needs and wants of the people who live there-students included!

So if you need to use the internet but don’t want to pay, if you’d like to watch a band or exhibit some art or maybe if you would just like a place to hang out  with your friends, then The Barn is the place to go in Farnham.